STEVEN G JAMES,
DIRECTOR,
FEDERATION DESIGN
When a client approached us with concerns about a possible issue on their lead generation website, they already knew the stakes were high.
This was not a minor website query. The site was receiving thousands of pounds’ worth of paid traffic every week, and the webform at the centre of the journey played a crucial role in converting that investment into actionable leads. For a setup like that, the form cannot simply “work” on a basic level — it has to be frictionless for the user, reliably capture every required detail, archive the submitted data correctly, and pass it through to the sales team both as a ticket and as structured data inside the CRM.
At first glance, the system appeared to be functioning.
Core lead information such as name, email address, and phone number was being collected successfully. Tickets were still being generated for the team, and new enquiries were still entering the pipeline. But this particular form gathered more than just the basics. It also asked users to enter their average annual earnings — a mandatory field — and used a JSON-driven script to generate a calculated projection figure based on that input.
That was where the problem lived.
Although the lead itself was still coming through, both the user’s earnings input and the calculated projection value were failing to make their way into the CRM. In other words, the form was only partially working — and that made it a serious business issue rather than a simple technical fault.
Those missing data points mattered. They directly influenced how leads were assessed, prioritised, and handled internally. Without them, the sales team was working with an incomplete picture, making it harder to judge lead quality and urgency. The process had a gap in it, and that gap affected decision-making.
Our job was to find out why this webform failure was happening
Through investigation, testing, and a deeper look at how the form logic, ticketing process, and CRM integration interacted, we were able to diagnose the root cause. From there, we designed and deployed a robust fix that ensured both the original input value and the calculated output were captured and passed through correctly.
But solving the bug was only part of the opportunity.
As a design, marketing, and technology solutions company, we do not just patch issues — we look for smarter, more creative ways to improve the full journey. In this case, the fix created the perfect moment to refine the user experience too.
Previously, the projected figure was only delivered by email after submission. As part of the improved solution, that same projection is now also displayed instantly on screen, giving users immediate feedback and a clearer, more satisfying experience in the moment.
The result was a stronger system on every level: reliable CRM data, better internal lead handling, and a more informative and polished journey for the end user.
It is a good example of how hidden technical issues can quietly undermine performance, even when things appear to be working on the surface — and how the right mix of investigation, creative thinking, and technical execution can turn a fault into a meaningful upgrade.
